I first heard Nightwish in 2005 performing the remake of Sleeping Sun on a classical music channel and thought they were a classical band. At that time I wasn’t listening to much music and it wasn’t until 2006 that I realized that they were a symphonic metal band. So I started watching them on YouTube afterwards and really started to like them.
Tarja as lead vocals was awesome. When she left Nightwish 2005/2006 and was replaced by Annette Olsen with whom they recorded Dark Passion Play 2007, I went off them for a while, because at the time I didn’t really rate Annette when they did that album.
In 2011 they released Imaginaerum, I thought that it was going to be another Dark Passion Play, but I can gladly admit that I was wrong about the album. It was brilliant and the video to Storytime was superb and that got me back into Nightwish. Annette was then replaced by another singer in 2012/13, I was thinking “I was starting to like Annette’s voice” on the Imaginaerum album and she slightly pulled ahead over Tarja, in the “Who was the best Nightwish singer category”. When I found out who took over the lead vocals of the band, my jaw dropped, it was Floor Jansen of After Forever and ReVamp fame. I saw her live in 2012 with her own band ReVamp when she released ReVamp’s debut album and went on tour as support of Epica’s European tour. I am a huge fan of Floor Jansen and in my eyes she cannot do anything wrong.
When I heard that Nightwish had a new album with Floor on lead vocals I was shouting “Yes” and rushed out and bought Endless Forms Most Beautiful album. When I got back home, I started to listening to it right away. The overall sound of this album is a marked difference from what Tarja and Annette have done with Nightwish. Tarja was more operatic, whilst Annette was more pop rock orientated. With Floor’s singing style, it is vastly different as it is more symphonic and more in keeping with what the guys of Nightwish are aiming for.
This album is a lot more melodic, heavier and darker than the last three Nightwish albums, this album has got a good few styles of music in it, such as folk and traditional, to the typical style of Nightwish which is melodic, symphonic heavy metal. Nightwish and Floor Jansen have come a long way since Tarja and Annette left. Floor has come a very long way since the days of when she was in After Forever, who had disbanded in 2009, after the self titled album After Forever 2007. Endless Forms Most Beautiful is a very good album in many ways. With Floor on vocals and the solid sounds the boys are producing. If you haven’t got this album yet, go out and BUY IT NOW.
I would give this album 5 out of 5
Project Metal Music
Project Metal Music 